Beautiful
by misori
Summary: [KaiJou, slight hints of YY and BR] Jounouchi's becoming lost inside his own little world, and Kaiba's just trying to sort out his priorities.
1. Prologue

/sigh/ Reposted because the link wasn't working.

Disclaimer: Yuugiou belongs to Kazuki Takahashi, who is not me. In other words, I don't own Yuugiou.

**Important, please read!** Ah, now that I have your attention, **please note that this fanfic takes place after the end of the Yuugiou anime series**. This means you should have knowledge of all that has happened during the Yuugiou anime, at least. I will not be responsible for any spoilers, manga or anime. I would have preferred to base it on the manga, but I doubt many have read it. Also, I prefer the original over the dub, so expect differences and stuff like that.

This story is canon based through and through, but this only applies to events and facts. Last of all, this is **BL/boy love/shonen ai/yaoi/slash**. If you don't like that sort of thing, don't read this fanfic.

(Read the manga… especially if you're one of those people who thought this, "What if it had been Kaiba who saved Jounouchi during the part where he nearly drowned in Battle City?") This is a little teaser. Anyone actually curious enough to look it up, check chapter 199 (or somewhere around there) of the manga. You won't be disappointed.

* * *

A KaiJou story by Miso Soup Productions (formerly known as "Misori Chan")  
**Beautiful**  
_Prologue - Sleepless Nights_  
On the radio: "Now Three" by Vienna Teng

-:i:-

It was the night before school started again and the last day of Winter Break. Tomorrow would be the start of the last quarter of the school year, which meant graduation was quickly approaching. Tomorrow, Jounouchi would finally see Yuugi again. After the departure of the Other Yuugi at the start of the break, the only other time he had seen his friend was during New Years, when everyone had gathered together at the game shop to celebrate. After that, he had hardly heard from Yuugi, and he had guessed that it was because he needed time alone to become used to being apart from the Other Yuugi.

Jounouchi would probably never understand how deep their bond had been, but he understood that the Other Yuugi had been someone very important to his friend. Still, he wished they had spent more time together. Even Honda and Anzu had been busy during the break visiting relatives amongst other things, leaving him without much to do in his spare time. Because of that he had used whatever "spare time" he had to do more odd jobs, along with his job as a paper boy. The only pro to that was he had earned extra money, which turned out to be more than enough to pay the bills and his school fees (1). He even had some left over that he could use to buy new Duel Monsters cards, or even better, some new clothes.

Well, none of that really mattered at the moment. It was getting late and if he wanted to be awake enough the next morning to meet up with the gang and make it to the bus, he needed to be in bed soon. There was no reason for him to be depressed over such little things since he'd be able to see his friends again tomorrow. More importantly, he needed to end his thoughts there or else it would only lead to even more bothersome thoughts, and he had enough to deal with already. He honestly didn't need to build up any more weight for himself. Yes, he'd deal with those other problems later; For now, he needed to rest and catch up on his sleep.

A crash just outside his room snapped him out of his half awake state. Jounouchi exhaled softly. He had been so close to falling asleep too.

Scrambling out of bed as fast as possible, he raced to his bedroom door and yanked it open. The sight that met him was revolting but pitiful at the same time, and it pulled at his heart. "Tou-san…" (2) His father was drunk again, he knew, but it still ate him up inside to see him passed out on their apartment floor, unaware of anything wrong. He walked over slowly to his father's side and knelt down, gently placing a hand on the man's forehead. Sighing in relief at the feel of warm skin, he began to pick up his father and help him to his room. Throughout the entire ordeal, Jounouchi could only think of one thing. He was glad that his father wasn't sick or dead.

Once he had brought his father safely to his room, Jounouchi retreated to his own room to once again try to fall asleep. Despite knowing that it would be much harder to fall asleep now, he still forced himself to try. When asleep, he wouldn't have to worry about anything and could just succumb to his dreams, and that was a good enough reason for him to desire sleep. For a good hour, Jounouchi simply stared at his ceiling. He just couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard he tried, or perhaps he had been trying _too_ hard. What was worse was that he had developed a headache during the hour.

Becoming even more frustrated when he couldn't even close his eyes to rest, Jounouchi sat up straight on his bed and made his way to his window. For a while he just stood there, not really doing anything in particular. Then, he moved closer to the window, leaning forward a little.

Jounouchi raised a hand up to touch the glass, just barely brushing it. After a few seconds, he pressed his hand fully against the glass. It was so cold against his skin and he wanted more. Standing even closer to the window, Jounouchi pressed his head against the glass, instantly feeling a wave of coolness block out his headache. He closed his eyes, allowing himself to feel more of the wonderful sensation. Minutes later, his headache disappeared. Satisfied and feeling much better, he opened his eyes to admire the scenery before him.

Although he lived in an apartment complex, the window in his room had a pretty decent—if not nice—view of the entire city and that was one thing he was truly grateful for. During nights such as these, it really helped to relax him. Deciding that just looking at the city wasn't enough, he slid his window open and was greeted with a breath of fresh air. Jounouchi inhaled deeply with a smile and gazed into the distance. A breeze entered his room, brushing his hair with ghostly touches. Continuing to appreciate the outside with half lidded eyes, he sensed that sleep was just within his grasp…

Funny, he could see the Kaiba Corp building from his window.

"Kaiba!" Jounouchi shouted, only to clasp his hands tightly over his mouth. Listening intently for any movements from the room next to his, Jounouchi mentally berated himself for his sudden outburst. Upon hearing nothing, he slowly removed his hands and let out a sigh of relief. Jounouchi's eyes once again settled on the Kaiba Corp building.

Kaiba Seto was a strange person, and that was all Jounouchi could honestly say about him. Since the incident with Dartz, Kaiba had grown closer to Jounouchi and his group of friends. They weren't really the best of _buddies_, but they certainly were more tolerant and understanding towards each other. Even though Kaiba didn't really spend much time with them, he was still considered to be a friend. Kaiba's friendship with them was an odd and fragile one, but Jounouchi thought it was a pleasant change.

"Kaiba…" Jounouchi whispered.

It was ironic how all his thoughts always led to Kaiba in the end, one way or another. Some time ago he had accepted the fact that he was a little bit obsessed with Kaiba. Nonetheless, it didn't mean that he still didn't get pissed off every time that stuck up jerk entered his mind, since Kaiba would always be Kaiba. Him and his stupid comments. His stupid corporation. His stupid hair. Just thinking about Kaiba made Jounouchi want to throw his duel disk at the bastard's face. Then again, it would be such a waste of a good duel disk. He had to admit though; Kaiba did have a brilliant mind, even if he had issues and only thought of Mokuba and Kaiba Corp.

Jounouchi stuck out his tongue childishly at the window. "Kaiba is such an asshole."

Turning away from the window in a huff, he crossed his arms and glared at his door. He didn't want to think about Kaiba anymore. Thinking about Kaiba always made him feel slightly uneasy, and there was always a strange ache in his chest accompanying that feeling of uneasiness. Glancing down at the floor, Jounouchi ran a hand through his hair. He sighed. It looked like it was going to be another sleepless night.

-:i:-

To Be Continued…

(1) Public education in Japan isn't free. Er… public schools in Japan are like private schools in the U.S.  
(2) Tou-san: A way to say dad.

* * *

Next time…  
_Chapter One: A Tender Daydream_

A/N: Well, the title is a hint, just like all my chapter titles will be. BTW, guys, this is a musical fanfic. Each chapter will center on a song. For more info, check out my fandom LJ (link is in my profile). Also, Yuugiou is a Japanese anime, so the school system will be based on Japanese schools. If you visit my fandom LJ, there will be an entry about Japanese schools and how they work, for this will be the only part where I use footnotes to explain the school systems.

On another note, this is an experimental fic. This is my first really long KaiJou fanfic (not a one-shot or that 3 chapter thing I did a LONG time ago). I am enjoying it and I hope you will too. Reviews are very much appreciated.


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugiou, nor will I ever. 

To anon. reviewer: If you want a review reply, please sign in. I do not reply (except for this once) to anon. reviewers. Thank you.

A/N: I seriously recommend visiting my fandom LJ--you're missing out on freebies. That is all. Also, **Ryou will be referred to as Bakura in this fic, since that is what he's called by the others in the sub.**

* * *

A KaiJou story by Miso Soup Productions (formerly known as "Misori Chan")  
**Beautiful**  
_Chapter One - A Tender Daydream_  
On the radio: "Map of the Problematique" by Muse 

-:i:-

He couldn't breathe. Struggling to find air, Jounouchi opened his mouth to receive some much needed oxygen, only to be disappointed upon finding none. He couldn't breathe. All around him he felt an unknown pressure squeezing and pushing down on him, suffocating him. He couldn't breathe. Jounouchi struggled against the invisible binds that held him down; He needed to get away. He couldn't breathe. A flash of blue, and Jounouchi found himself on his bedroom floor tangled within his blankets, shaking uncontrollably from the sudden impact of hitting the ground. At least, that was what he wanted to believe.

Eyes wide, Jounouchi picked himself up from the floor and returned his blankets to their rightful place, pausing to stare at them after he had neatly arranged them. Strange, he wondered why it was that looking at his blankets made him feel less tense. Perhaps it was because they were a form of reality, something that was more real than his dreams would ever be. It was ironic how a week ago he'd have given anything to lose himself in the world of dreams, and now it was quite the opposite. All those sleepless nights and the only thing he had gained was that dream. He could almost cry.

The first time he had that dream was the night school started, and since then, he'd been having the same dream every night. The dream wasn't what he considered to be a nightmare, but it certainly brought forth many unsettling feelings, and he didn't want to acknowledge what those feelings meant. On the brighter side, perhaps the dream was simply a manifestation of all the stress he'd been building up lately. Taking care of his father and being forced to plan out his future weren't exactly the easiest things to deal with in the world. After all, there was only a little over two months of school left, and Jounouchi still wasn't too sure about what he wanted to do with his life.

No, that wasn't true. He knew what he wanted, but there probably wasn't any way for him to acquire it… Jounouchi blinked and shook his head. What was he doing, thinking about such serious things in the morning. It was _way_ too early. Scolding himself for allowing a mere dream to get to him, he turned away from his bed to look at his clock. **5:33**. 'Great. Just great,' he thought. Not only had he had a terrible sleep, he had woken up at a ridiculously early time.

"Only a madman would wake up at this time," Jounouchi muttered. "Someone like Kaiba…"

Jounouchi smacked his forehead and groaned. Why? Why did it always have to be Kaiba? He had asked himself that question so many times and he still hadn't found the answer. Frowning, he looked outside his window, where the sky was still dark. Mesmerized by the beauty before him, he felt the need to walk over to his window to get a closer look. Jounouchi laughed softly, thinking how odd it was that looking out his window always seemed to comfort him.

And there it was again, in the same exact place as always: Kaiba Corp.

Sighing in exasperation, Jounouchi pushed Kaiba out of his thoughts and was forced to face the fact that despite how tired he felt, there was no way he was going to go back to sleep now. He wasn't going to experience that dream _again_; Once a day was more than enough. Moreover, he didn't want to stay in his room any longer. The air felt odd, almost as if it was trying to drain away his energy, not that he wasn't already feeling less than "okay". Besides, he was up unusually early so he thought that he should make the best of it and be productive.

With that thought in mind, Jounouchi made his way to the bathroom to freshen up and get ready, all the while singing an English song he had heard on the radio the previous day.

Thirty minutes later Jounouchi was dressed in his school uniform, his school bag packed and ready to go. He had also finished preparing breakfast, and with over an hour to spare, he decided to prepare himself a packed lunch. Normally he'd just buy food at school but today he felt like he deserved a treat, which happened to be his own cooking, the same one that his father often complimented.

It was a bit peculiar for a young man to know how to cook, but ever since his parents' divorce, Jounouchi had been forced to take care of not only himself, but his father as well, and that man couldn't even chop vegetables, much less cook. Chuckling softly at that thought, the blonde finished up with wrapping up his packed lunch. All he had left to do was leave a little note for his father, telling him that breakfast only needed to be warmed up, and at last he was finally done with everything.

Checking the clock in the kitchen, he was shocked to see that it was only **6:30**, meaning that he had two hours before school was officially in session. Estimating that it would only take him another thirty minutes to reach school by taking the bus, Jounouchi was happy to find out he had enough time for some dozing at school. Briefly, he thought of his friends, knowing that by the time he reached school, they'd probably just reached the bus stop.

On the other hand, he was quite sure that after ten minutes, they would most likely understand that he had gone to school on his own. Reassured that everything would be alright, Jounouchi picked up his school bag and walked over to the apartment door. Wary of his father waking up, Jounouchi grabbed the knob, twisting it and pulling the door open faster than necessary. He took a step forward and stopped.

Jounouchi gasped, fell short of breath and blinked rapidly as his vision blurred and swirled. Unable to recognize anything anymore, he lost awareness of his surroundings and balance, pitching dangerously forward. His mind was fuzzy; He couldn't feel his body. Something pulled at him, begged him to succumb to its soothing embrace and to forget everything. As tempting as it was, there was still a distinct sense of dread, that there was something terribly wrong with his current situation. And just like that, it vanished. Jolted by the abrupt return of his senses, Jounouchi grabbed a nearby rail to support himself, practically falling down to his knees in the process.

"Well," the blonde remarked, bemused. "That was strange…"

Gathering up his things, which had dropped out of his grasp, Jounouchi kicked his apartment door close, no longer caring whether his father woke up or not, and walked down the path to the stairs. It wasn't the first time he had felt like that, and he knew it wouldn't be the last. He was suddenly reminded of how crappy his day had begun.

"Fuck," he said, and ran a shaky hand through his hair.

-:i:-

On the other side of Domino City Kaiba was walking brusquely down a flight of stairs, his lips set in a grim line, not bothering to make a comment or a nod of acknowledgement when his maids greeted him at the bottom. He was in a bad mood, and taking it out on the maids wasn't going to improve his mood so he chose to simply ignore them. Unfortunately for him, one of his maids didn't know better and decided to approach him about his current displeasure.

"Seto-sama(1)," she said. "Are you feeling alright?" Kaiba felt like hurtling something at the door in front of him. Couldn't she tell that he wasn't feeling remotely "alright"?

He had woken up late--though it was still considerably early, but later than usual--and the day before, he had discovered a virus that had leaked into the Kaiba Corp mainframe. How that had happened, he had yet to find out, but he had had to restore several lost files, not to mention the blueprints for his new dueling technology had been completely wiped out.

To think, he had been hoping to finish the prototypes by the end of the month. Now, it looked like he would have to start all over again. The virus just had to have hit the day before he would actually start on the prototypes.

"Seto-sama…?" Kaiba stared blankly at the maid, bored. There was no point in relaying any of his thoughts to her, so he replied curtly, "I'm fine." Seemingly satisfied with her employer's answer, the maid left him alone to attend to the more important matters at hand, which was to reach school before the crowds came. Just as he was about to leave the mansion, though, a black blur went hurtling into him, startling him.

"Mokuba!"

"Nii-sama(2)! Have a safe trip!" Mokuba shouted happily. Kaiba sighed and extracted himself from Mokuba.

"Mokuba, be careful. You could have hurt yourself," the brunet reprimanded, looking down pointedly at Mokuba, who simply laughed it off and pushed his brother out the door.

"Leave, you grouchy man," the boy said. "You're scaring all the maids."

Mokuba handed Kaiba his briefcase and slammed the door on the elder's face. Kaiba shook his head and walked down the short steps to where his limo was parked and waiting. He was really glad he had Mokuba; His brother could always make his days better just by being himself, and had even helped in reminding him that a single virus wasn't worth his energy, especially since he had already gotten rid of it.

What really bothered him was how it had gotten there and _who_ was responsible. There was also the matter of the lost information on his new dueling technology. That had to wait, though. Right now, he needed to concentrate on making it to school.

"Seto-sama," his driver greeted with a bow, pulling the door open for him to enter. Kaiba got into the limo and sat down, setting his briefcase next to him before crossing his arms. Whoever it was that was responsible for the virus, he'd get that person in the end. He was about to think of ways to make that person pay when his thoughts were interrupted by the sounds of his cell phone. Pulling it out from his blazer pocket, he flipped the phone open and held it to his ear.

"_NII-SAMA_! The maids told me you didn't eat breakfast!"

Kaiba held the phone a bit further away from his ear before replying. "I'm sorry, Mokuba. I woke up late today so I had no time for breakfast."

"_What_!? You… you actually woke up late!?" Mokuba screeched through the phone.

"Yes."

"Um… uh… are you feeling okay, nii-sama?"

"I feel fine."

Knowing that his brother was probably too stunned to make a coherent thought, Kaiba thought it would be best to assure him that there was nothing to fret about. "Don't worry about me, Mokuba. The cook prepared a large lunch for me." A moment of silence passed and there was still no response. "Mokuba?"

"Huh! Oh, I'm still here, nii-sama. Um, well, have a nice day at school! Bye!" Click.

Kaiba sighed and put his phone away, leaning back in his seat. Another reason he was thankful for his little brother was that there was never a dull moment. He couldn't tell his brother about the new dueling technology; He wanted it to be a surprise for Mokuba since he was the inspiration.

Eyes flickering close, Kaiba relaxed, enjoying the peaceful silence, more than aware that it was only a matter of time before he was forced to endure the incessant babbling of the students at school. Without much to do, he envisioned illusive dancing shades of yellow. He smiled.

Not long after, Kaiba arrived at school, and right at the same time he normally did. Kaiba left the limo and headed straight for the school entrance, not wanting to be accosted by any of his devoted fan girls, the ones who were willing to get up early enough to arrive at school at the same time he did.

The only reason he was always early was because he liked to read in the morning, which helped to jump start his brain every day. Even though he could read at any time, any place, he still preferred to read in quiet. Since not many people enjoyed going to school early, the brunet fully took advantage of that.

Quickening his pace a little, but not enough to appear rushed and undignified, Kaiba walked up the stairs to the third floor and didn't waste time to switch into his school slippers like students were supposed to. Once on the third floor, he strode down the hall until he reached his homeroom, **3-B**, and stood in front of the door. Sliding it open, he was about to enter the classroom when a body rammed into his. He cursed under his breath and turned around.

What he saw surprised him, but only slightly. It was Jounouchi.

Jounouchi and his group of friends were known for getting to school pretty early, but not as early as this. Furthermore, the blonde was all alone. Kaiba smirked. This seemed like a good opportunity for him to release some of his pent up anger from the other day, and who better to take it out on than Jounouchi. However, before he could even get a single word out, the blonde's actions prevented him from doing anything.

"I'm sorry," Jounouchi whispered, head downcast, and moved to the side to enter the classroom. Kaiba stared after him, taken aback by the other's abnormal behavior. From the doorway, he watched as Jounouchi took his seat and immediately went to sleep.

A disconcerting observation struck Kaiba. Jounouchi hadn't even noticed that it was him he had run into, thus the unexpected apology. Kaiba mentally shrugged and took his own seat in the back, a row to the left from where Jounouchi sat. He didn't know why he spent so much time thinking about the blonde, but if he wasn't going to let fan girls disturb his reading time, he certainly wasn't going make an exception for Jounouchi.

Determined to follow through with his plans, Kaiba pulled out a book and started to read. Nonetheless, he couldn't help but glance at the blonde's back every once in a while. Jounouchi's actions--or lack thereof--had really gotten under his skin, whether he had wanted them to or not. Frustrated with how much attention he was paying the blonde--who hadn't even noticed him at all--he turned his gaze into a glare.

"Stupid bonkotsu(3)," he stated aloud, and smirked smugly at the slight twitch of Jounouchi's body.

It was then that students started to file into the classroom. Amongst the few early arrivers were Jounouchi's friends, who spotted him instantly and rushed over to his seat. Yuugi was the first to do anything.

He gently shook Jounouchi's shoulder to try and wake him up. "Jounouchi-kun(4), wake up." A few more shakes followed, but still Jounouchi refused to wake, and Yuugi grew more desperate, so he raised his voice louder. "**Jounouchi-kun**!" At this Jounouchi's head sprung up, barely missing Yuugi's chin. Kaiba saw this and would have laughed out loud, had it not been for the fact he was at school.

"Yuugi!" the blonde exclaimed, slightly flustered, disoriented, and a bit unsure of where he was.

"_Jounouchi-kun_, you're finally awake!" Yuugi grinned, happy that his efforts had finally paid off, then frowned. "Jounouchi-kun, where were you this morning?"

Jounouchi scratched his head sheepishly and released a wide yawn; He was still somewhat sleepy. "Oh, nowhere," he mumbled. Yuugi's lip twitched, but before he could utter a word, Jounouchi stopped him. "Don't worry about me, Yuugi. I just woke up earlier than normal, that's all." Anzu and Honda glanced at him in mild humor, while Yuugi scrutinized him closely, looking for anything that told him otherwise. At this point, Kaiba no longer felt the need to watch Jounouchi, returning to his book so as to ignore the rest of class.

When Yuugi noticed nothing off, he smiled brightly, hugged the blonde and proceeded to drag him off to his seat three rows to the left, next to the windows. He had so much to tell Jounouchi, or rather, he had noticed how lately his friend had been less lively than normal and wanted to do something for the blonde. Of course Jounouchi was still the same, just not all there sometimes, and Yuugi was starting to worry.

The blonde had always been there for him and cared about him a lot. Naturally, Yuugi felt the same and he honestly wanted to be there for Jounouchi, much like the time he had been there for him when Atemu left for the afterlife…

_"It'll be okay, Yuugi." _

_"How?" _

_"Think of it this way. You've already met Atemu, right?" _

_"Yeah…" _

_"Since you've met him once already that means he's now connected to you, right?" _

_"I don't understand, Jounouchi-kun." _

_"It means that you'll meet each other again, doesn't it? I mean, I may not be that smart--" _

_"Jounouchi-kun, that's not true!" _

_"It's rude to interrupt, Yuugi. Anyway, I may not be that smart, but I know that as long as you really want to meet that person again then you definitely will." _

_"Jounouchi-kun…" _

_"So cheer up, okay? I'm sure you'll meet him again. When you do, don't you want to greet him with a smile?"_

'Jounouchi-kun,' Yuugi thought. 'Thank you.'

"For what?" Yuugi blinked, then blushed, realizing he had said that last part of his thoughts out loud. Laughing nervously, he said, "Oh, nothing…"

"Right," Jounouchi frowned, but let it go. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Oh! You see--"

The chime of the school bell sounded, stopping Yuugi in his tracks before he could go any further. He let out a deep sigh of resignation and glanced up at Jounouchi. "I'll talk to you later, okay?" Nodding numbly and still dazed from his earlier nap, the blonde made his way back to his seat. "And don't you dare forget!" Yuugi yelled after him.

Jounouchi grinned. "Sure, sure, Yuugi."

-:i:-

It was currently history class, the last class before lunch, and Mizuki-sensei was busy lecturing about the end of the Meiji period. It was a review, so Jounouchi didn't feel inclined to pay attention, not since he had already memorized all there was to know about the Meiji period. Instead, he chose to direct his attention on his table. He watched blankly as his vision came in and out of focus and the table's lines warped into images that resembled Duel Monsters. He smiled a little when he saw the Red Eyes Black Dragon fly across his table…

Wishing that he had Yuugi's seat, Jounouchi gazed at his friend out of the corner of his eye. Where Yuugi sat he was right next to the windows and could easily gaze outside at any point. How he wished that he could be looking out the windows now. At least with windows, he could feel breezes as they came and went, as opposed to sitting at the front of class and pretending to pay attention. Jounouchi leaned back against his chair, eyes half lidded and droopy with sleep.

For the next few moments, his eyes wandered around the room. Everyone seemed to be paying rapt attention; He guessed they really wanted to pass the upcoming exam. Even Honda, who usually slept through review lectures--much like he himself did--was rapidly jotting down notes. Curious to see if anyone else was taking notes, Jounouchi's eyes landed on the seat next to his, and he was glad to find Bakura free of any form of note taking.

He wondered what Kaiba was doing… It was too bad Kaiba sat all the way in the back, and there was no way he was going to risk turning around.

Scoffing, Jounouchi scrunched his eyes closed, leaning forward to rest his head on his table. Mizuki-sensei could yell at him later, but for now, all he wanted was to clear his mind. 'That's right!' he thought, and turned his head so that he could see the classroom's windows. Whilst watching the clouds move slowly apart and together, he began to feel the most relaxed he had been the whole day. He thought it to be a good time to rest his eyes so he closed them, but he didn't sleep.

Blue. Blue was the color he saw every time he closed his eyes. It was a comforting color, but it reminded him too much of…

Jounouchi shuddered as a chilling sensation ran up his spine, tickling his skin as it wrapped itself snugly around his frame. From the depths of his blue surroundings, ghostly hands came forward and caressed his face, tracing gently from the tips of his eyebrows down to his collarbone. There they lingered and tenderly pressed the soft skin beneath, simply to fade away, leaving behind a tingling trail of sensations…

"_Jounouchi…_"

And all he could see was blue, blue, blue.

"_Jounouchi…_"

It filled him up, squeezed him from the inside out and threatened to drown him in its hold.

"_Jounouchi…_"

"**Jounouchi-kun**!"

Jumping up in his seat, Jounouchi nearly knocked over his table and chair in the process. He faced the direction from which the voice came from--it was Bakura--and stared wide eyed down the white haired boy.

"Jounouchi-kun, it's lunch time," Bakura said. Blinking, Jounouchi realized he had somehow drifted off without his knowing. He quickly thanked Bakura, who gave him a small nod in return, and pulled out his packed lunch from under his table(5). Setting his bento box on his table, he slipped the top off and grabbed his chopsticks. After that strange dream just then, he was ready to eat his self prepared treat, but before he could Honda hopped over to his seat and grabbed him around the neck.

"Jounouchi! You have this delicious lunch and you're not going to share?" he teased. As an automatic response, the blonde hugged the bento box and tried to hide it from Honda's prying eyes. "Oh come on, Jounouchi, share with me."

"No," he stated firmly. Besides, wasn't it normally him who asked Honda for food, not the other way around?

"Why?"

"Because… because Shizuka made it for me!" Jounouchi smiled and gave himself a mental pat on the back for his save. Not only had he come up with a believable lie, but he had also hid his love for cooking from his friend, who would have definitely made fun of him for days had he found out. Despite this, his joy was cut short, for when Honda heard that _Shizuka-chan_ had prepared the lunch, he made an automatic lunge for Jounouchi's bento box.

"Give it!" the brunet shouted.

"No!" Jounouchi jumped up and held his lunch close. Honda made another lunge, but Jounouchi simply leapt back and moved farther away.

"Oh, come on, Jounouchi! Just a small taste…" Honda whined pitifully, making another unsuccessful grab for the box. The blonde grinned, enjoying the torture he was giving his friend and took another step backward, this time holding his prized bento box above his head in a taunting manner.

"You'll just have to come and get it, Honda," he mocked with a wide grin. Honda glared, but reached for the box anyway, but before he could, the box dropped out the blonde's grasp and crashed to the floor. Acting at once, the burnet rushed to Jounouchi's side before he completely dropped to the floor with his now ruined lunch.

"Jounouchi!"

Panicked shouts and murmurs rang throughout the classroom. Upon seeing the blonde's sudden lurch, Anzu and Yuugi had rushed over to where Honda and Jounouchi were. Yuugi worriedly looked down at his friend's pale face. "Jounouchi-kun!"

"Y-Yuugi…" Jounouchi rasped, rising from his position on the floor.

"Jounouchi-kun!" Yuugi hugged him. Feeling a bit awkward from all the unwanted attention he was getting, Jounouchi softly patted the shorter teen's back in a reassuring manner.

"Don't worry, Yuugi. I just tripped, that's all."

Yuugi felt like smacking Jounouchi--as if he would believe that the blonde has just _tripped_. Jounouchi knew Yuugi didn't believe him. Of course he didn't; He wouldn't have believed it himself. Still, he didn't need Yuugi to scold him then, considering he felt like a three ton truck had just run him over for the fun of it. So, he calmly pried Yuugi from him and stood straight up.

"See, Yuugi?" he asked. "I'm fine."

"Jounou--" Jounouchi cut him off.

"Hey, I'm feeling a little bit miffed so I'm going to go wash up, okay? You guys just go on with eating lunch without me." The blonde flashed his friend a winning smile and left, all the while completely oblivious to the worried stares directed at his departing form.

"Jounouchi-kun…"

Once outside the classroom and with the door securely closed behind him, Jounouchi slid down a wall and clutched his head. "Shit." Of all the times for him to have another round of what had occurred in the morning it just had to be during school where everyone saw. Dragging himself up from the floor, Jounouchi made his way down the hall, completely ignoring the questioning glances sent his way and the annoying buzzing in his head.

After what seemed like forever to Jounouchi, he was finally at the stairs; Now all he had to do was make it down those stairs and walk a little more until he reached the boys' restroom. If only he could _see_ those stairs, but his vision had chose today of all days to play tricks with him, making it so that all he could see were blurred shades of blue.

Squinting a little, Jounouchi took a small and hesitant step forward, totally missing the solid ground and falling forward. 'I've been doing that an awful lot lately,' he thought. In front of him, all he could see was a shining, brilliant blue surrounded by a world of black, but before the black enveloped him with the blue, he heard someone shout something.

"Bonkotsu!"

Jounouchi smiled. The voice had sounded strangely like that of a certain blue eyed, brown haired CEO he had been thinking of so much. It even talked like him…

"Bonkotsu, get a hold of yourself!" He wanted to laugh. His last thought before the black covered him was, 'What a weird dream.'

-:i:-

To Be Continued…

(1) Ehm… in the original Japanese version that _is_ what Kaiba's employees call him by, believe it or not. Watch the subs.  
(2) Nii-sama: A way to say older brother. Can be "honorable older brother".  
(3) Bonkotsu: Translates into "mediocre". This is actually what Kaiba calls Jounouchi the most (if you watch the subs). Shirohane's translation is… "proletariat". I actually prefer his translation.  
(4) This is what Yuugi and Yami (Atemu) call Jou in the subs. I don't believe anyone ever actually calls him "Jou".   
(5) Yes, Japanese schools have those kind of tables where you can… put stuff (books and so on) under them…

* * *

Next time…  
_Chapter Two: Unbearable Silence_

A/N: Blue and yellow… Anyways, I'll try to update as much as possible. I have about a month left until I enter university, so… But don't worry, I'll still write while I'm attending college, just that there won't be quick updates when that time comes.

More on Kaiba's new dueling technology in the next chapter, too. Pfft, actually it's _mine_. I'm just letting Kaiba borrow it since he can actually _make_ it. :P (A lot more KaiJou moments in the next one…)

The seating arrangements are pretty much canon, from what I can tell by reading the manga and watching the anime. I made a little diagram… anyone who wishes to see it, just check my profile. There will be a link… (or just visit my fandom LJ; it's there too…)

Mmm.. I want to draw the window scene from the prologue, the sleeping scene in the classroom from this chapter, as well as Katsu-chan's last smile before the black surrounds him! I think I will!


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: Don't you get it by now? I don't own Yuugiou! 

A/N: Fandom LJ--Updated the downloads section, although artworks for Beautiful have yet to be posted.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA--I have returned! Anyway, this chapter is dedicated to Wolfie-chan (my friend whose AIM recently died…), Chibi-the-small, and iloveatem. /hugs/

* * *

A KaiJou story by Miso Soup Productions (formerly known as "Misori Chan")  
**Beautiful**  
_Chapter Two - Unbearable Silence_  
On the radio: "I Wasn't Prepared" by Eisley 

-:i:-

"It's fatigue."

"What?"

Rising from her position on her chair, the nurse looked half-heartedly at Kaiba. To say she had been surprised when the brunet had barged into the her office carrying an unconscious Jounouchi in his arms was an understatement, but upon his serious demand for immediate care, she had switched on her professional mask instantly, disregarding her personal thoughts in order to care for a patient.

After several minutes of diagnosis, she was pleased to discover that it wasn't as serious as she had suspected, although that level of fatigue was highly uncommon for a high school student. Returning her attention to the present, the nurse noticed Kaiba was still angrily awaiting a more detailed explanation. Never in her life would she have guessed she'd witness such a scene as earlier, but that still didn't excuse Kaiba's continuously rude behavior. She sighed and pushed her glasses back in place.

"It's really nothing, Kaiba-kun," she said, completely ignoring the slight twitch of his body at her use of honorifics, "Jounouchi-kun is just suffering from an extreme case of fatigue. Nothing serious, so you may go now."

Kaiba scrutinized the nurse from his standing position, still disbelieving what she told him. He knew it _was_ possible to pass out from fatigue, but what didn't settle well with him was that it was _Jounouchi_ whom it had happened to. Wasn't he usually cheery, full of energy and always ready to tackle anything? To him, it appeared as a very unlikely thing, and that was leading him to experience several different emotions he didn't want to associate with Jounouchi.

"Kaiba-kun?"

Coolly, Kaiba glanced at the nurse out of the corner of his eyes. "What?"

"You may go now." she replied exasperatedly, not even flinching at his harsh tone.

Turning swiftly away from the woman, Kaiba moved to where Jounouchi lay, unconscious and probably totally unaware of what he had went through for him. "I'm staying." he snarled upon reaching the bedside. The nurse shook her head and walked to the office's entrance; She'd had enough of his attitude.

"Kaiba-kun, I'll be leaving now to take care of some things." she announced. Kaiba nodded indifferently. "Don't bother my patient too much. He needs his rest." With those last words, she was gone, leaving Kaiba alone with Jounouchi. Somehow, it had just become more uncomfortable than before now that there was no longer anyone to have a conversation with.

"Stupid bonkotsu," he muttered, glaring down at the blonde lying on the bed, "You just had to faint on me."

Despite what he just said, Kaiba was relieved he had been the one to find Jounouchi, though he'd never admit it. Anger dissipating, the brunet sat down on the bed, careful not to disturb and wake the other. There he was, sitting on the bed Jounouchi currently resided in, watching over him, and he had absolutely no idea why he was even doing it, not to mention he was sacrificing his lunch time to be there. Speaking of lunch time, Mokuba was going to be mad at him if he ever found out he skipped lunch as well.

Hence, he made a mental note to return home early from work to have a big dinner with Mokuba. It _had_ been a while since he'd last had dinner with his brother.

There was still the matter of Jounouchi though.

Cursing under his breath, Kaiba stared down at Jounouchi's unmoving figure. The room seemed so empty--eerie almost--and there was not a sound except for the quiet breathing from the both of them. All of that he was too aware of, and Jounouchi, who was oblivious to his displeasures, continued to sleep. Something inside Kaiba made him want to shake the blonde awake; This was not how it was to be when they were around each other. Unable to bear the thick silence any longer, his arm reached for Jounouchi's head.

'How strange.' Kaiba thought, missing exactly what that meant.

He paused, stopping just a small distance away from those soft looking strands of yellow. He wanted to touch them; They were so close within his grasp. Only a little further and he could have them in his hand…

"Kaiba-kun?"

Tensing, Kaiba warily turned to see the intruder. The nurse, upon seeing his cold expression, shrugged and sat down on her chair. How he had missed her entrance, he didn't know, but he was rather grateful for her sudden appearance. It hadn't happened, but he had almost done something that he would have… Have what?

"Lunch is over," the nurse stated. Kaiba stood up smoothly, acting as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred and walked toward the door, stopping when the nurse once again called out to him.

"Kaiba-kun…"

"What?"

"About Jounouchi-kun…" she began, but bit back the rest. "No, never mind. I'm sorry. It's nothing."

Even though he knew the nurse wanted to reveal something important, the pained expression on her face caused him conflicting emotions, resulting in an inner battle. Did he want to know? A part of him did, yes, but the other part wanted nothing more to do with Jounouchi, and since the nurse chose to retain what she was going to say, she had decided for him. Feeling the need to get away from there as soon as possible, Kaiba headed off, but he couldn't help but throw one last look at Jounouchi.

With Kaiba gone, the nurse went to the blonde's side, reaching up to do what Kaiba had wanted to do but couldn't. She stroked those soft yellow strands softly and soothingly, mesmerized by their quiet and simple beauty.

"Jounouchi, what are you doing to yourself?" she asked him. No response came, of course; She hadn't expected one.

-:i:-

Something wasn't right. His mind was fuzzy, his body frozen stiff and he had no idea where he was. What's more, he couldn't remember anything at all--not what had happened nor how he ended here. Where was 'here' exactly? As far as he could see, it was just a foggy landscape, bare and without another person in sight.

"Are you sure he's alright?" a voice echoed.

That voice. Jounouchi recognized that voice, but he couldn't place _who_ that voice belonged to. Even so, it had sounded really close by, so he glared down at his legs and ordered them to move. However, he received no compliance and only resistance, so he clenched his eyes shut and willed himself to move. At last, he could finally feel his legs working.

An arm shot out and grabbed his shoulder, preventing him form moving any further.

"Who…" Jounouchi wondered, but drifted off when he was greeted with piercing blue. The same arm that had halted his movements snaked itself around his waist, dragging him closer to the unknown person into an embrace. "Who…" he asked again, but couldn't ask further when a finger traced along his cheekbone, making him shiver at how cold it felt against his skin.

"No…"

"No?" Another voice he recognized entered his mind. "You don't like this?" Even with his vision blurred, Jounouchi could sense the other person was smirking at him.

"Who are you?"

Silence met his ears, and Jounouchi felt disappointed when the unknown person's grip on him loosened a little. Why did he feel like he knew this person?

"He'll be fine, Yuugi-kun. It's just fatigue."

'Yuugi!' Jounouchi thought, impulsively pushing himself away from the stranger's hold. All around him, the fog started to clear as the sensation of falling rushed toward him. The last thing he felt before slipping back into reality was a tender caress traveling along his hair.

"Jounouchi-kun, you're awake!"

Jounouchi blinked a couple of times and yawned widely as he attempted to forget about the dream, then observed his surroundings, recognizing the familiar surroundings of the nurse's office right away; It wasn't the first time he'd been there. Beside him stood Yuugi, a worried expression etched on the poor boy's face. Smiling, Jounouchi gave him a small wave as a greeting.

"Yuugi, what are you doing here?"

Yuugi frowned, his forehead wrinkling even more in worry and irritation.

Knowing that he had fainted or something and all too aware that he had given Yuugi quite the scare, he knew that he shouldn't have played it off as something perfectly normal, but it was habit. He didn't know how else to do it.

Another thing wore on his mind: Who had carried him to the nurse's office? For sure, someone must have; He had been on the stairs after all, and he did recall a flicker of blue and brown before he lost awareness. Could it have been Yuugi? No, it couldn't have been Yuugi since it would have been too hard for him to have carried him all alone.

"How did I get here?" Jounouchi questioned, hoping that Yuugi would know something.

Sighing, Yuugi sat down on the bed. "I don't know. Kaiba-kun came back at the end of lunch and told me you were here, so I came here right after class ended."

"Kaiba?"

"Yeah, but he didn't give me any details." Yuugi said, understanding what Jounouchi wanted. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Class is over?"

"Yeah…"

Detecting that Yuugi was still more than a bit upset, Jounouchi pulled him into a one arm hug and mussed his hair some. "Well, in that case, we're free to go home." he declared happily. Yuugi struggled slightly and managed to escape from the blonde's hug, snapping his head up to glare at his friend.

"I was really worried about you, Jounouchi-kun!" he yelled.

Jounouchi smiled gently. "I know."

"Jounouchi-kun…"

"I'm sorry I worried you, Yuugi." Shaking his head, Yuugi bitterly smiled and looked down at his hands.

"It's okay, Jounouchi-kun."

Off to the side of the room, the nurse was quietly watching the exchange and decided it was a good time to interrupt. She cleared her throat rather noisily, reminding the two of her presence, and walked over to where they were to place a calming hand on Yuugi's shoulder. "I'm sorry," she said, "But you have to go now, Yuugi-kun."

Yuugi got off the bed, not wanting to anger the kind nurse, and readied to leave. "I'll call you later, okay, Jounouchi-kun?"

Nodding in agreement, Jounouchi flashed him a thumbs up before he completely exited the room. Now Jounouchi only had the nurse to deal with. In all honesty, Jounouchi adored the nurse--she had always treated his wounds with such care--but at the moment, he didn't want to face her, knowing all too well that he was in for a lecture or something similar.

"Jounouchi." Cringing visibly at the nurse's use of a cold tone with him, Jounouchi tried to mentally prepare for the worst. "I understand you have your reasons, but you shouldn't push yourself so hard." she continued.

"I know." he said.

"Furthermore, it's not good to be so tired at such a young age."

"I know."

"You're only seventeen."

"I know."

"You shouldn't have to--"

"I KNOW!" Jounouchi shouted.

"If you know, then why!?" the nurse screamed back.

Jounouchi glared at one of the room's walls and fisted the sheets beneath his hands. "Because."

Defeated and tired, the nurse decided to let it go, slumping back wearily onto her chair. She turned away from him, no longer willing to look him in the eyes. "You may go now, Jounouchi-kun." she whispered as she pretending to be busy with some paperwork. Fighting down the urge to console the nurse, Jounouchi hurriedly jumped out of the bed, grabbed his uniform blazer and raced for the door. Having someone care for him, especially someone who wasn't a friend or family member, had always made him feel an inexplicable sadness.

Now, all that was left to do was to go home.

As Jounouchi strolled down the halls, he noticed that the sun was setting outside. Had Yuugi stayed that late with him? Not only that, his father was probably worried sick about him. Now more determined to hurry home, he quickened his pace, which caused him to nearly miss the shout coming from the other end of the hall.

"Jounouchi-kun!" It was Mizuki-sensei. Slowing down so that she could catch up to him, Jounouchi had to wonder why today of all days, the school's staff chose to talk to him more than what was the norm. When she had finally caught up to Jounouchi, Mizuki-sensei had to rest a little. Unbeknownst to her student, she had been trailing him for quite some time, but he had been so lost in his thoughts that he didn't hear her the first few times.

"Jounouchi-kun," she started, huffing every once in a while, "I wanted to… talk to you. About your… future."

The blonde's eyes widened in surprise. Did she know?

"What about my future?"

"Well, university for one…"

Laughing loudly and awkwardly, Jounouchi rubbed the back of his neck. "Mizuki-sensei, you know that someone like me could never get into a university." he muttered quietly.

"That's not true! You can!" With how fierce and earnest of a look she was throwing at him, Jounouchi almost believed her words.

"No, I can't."

"Jounouchi--"

"Sorry, but I have to go. Tou-san's probably worried." Jounouchi didn't bother to wait for a reply and left, leaving behind a bewildered and concerned teacher.

Once outside the school building, he let out a breath of relief. Of all the things Mizuki-sensei wanted to talk to him about, he hadn't expected it to be about university. It made him wonder. Did she know? Thinking it over carefully, he concluded that there was no way she could have known, considering that not even Yuugi knew. 'Besides,' he thought, 'It's pointless.'

-:i:-

"What's wrong, nii-sama?"

Kaiba looked away from his plate of food and up at his little brother, whose face wore a small worried expression. "Nothing's wrong." he answered calmly.

Mokuba distractedly picked at his food, pondering over the somewhat automatic respond. Ever since his brother had arrived home--surprisingly early too--he had been acting strange, seemingly dazed and out of it, almost as if something important was occupying his mind. In spite of his brother promising to tell him if there was anything wrong, he couldn't help but suspect that maybe his brother still kept some secrets from time to time.

"You haven't touched your food at all, nii-sama." Mokuba pointed out.

Sighing, Kaiba placed his fork down. Mokuba was right; He hadn't touched his food at all. "I'm sorry," he said, "I just don't feel hungry."

No longer in the mood to eat, Mokuba pushed his plate away and crossed his arms, all the while openly staring at his elder brother. "This isn't like you, nii-sama. You usually don't skip meals…"

Kaiba stood up, getting ready to leave the dinner table as a maid rushed over to clear his plate while another worked on Mokuba's. "Don't worry about me, Mokuba. There's just a little something on my mind."

"Care to share?" Mokuba offered.

"No, not now."

Throwing his hands up in frustration, Mokuba left the dining room to do some homework, but not before giving him brother one last question. "Nii-sama, you know you can tell me anything, right?"

"Yes, Mokuba."

"Good." Mokuba left with a click of the door. Kaiba, alone in the dining room as his maids carried on with clearing up the dining table, saw that there was no point for him to remain there. He retreated to his study, wanting to get some more work done and while he was at it, resume with his new dueling technology. That is, if he could stop thinking about Jounouchi.

More specifically, what had happened in the nurse's office. Despite how hard he tried to just ignore and forget it, he couldn't stop mulling over about his reaction to seeing Jounouchi lie there on that sick bed. More than that, he had wanted to touch him in an intimate way, something he wasn't sure was a good thing or not. No, of course it wasn't a good thing.

Flipping his laptop open, Kaiba settled down on his chair and waited for it to load. Yet, as he finished typing his password in, he couldn't manage to force himself to start working. All that his mind seemed keen on focusing on was Jounouchi, and that was bothering him to no end. He never could understand why he wasted so much time for and with the dumb blonde of a duelist, but he did and that was what was even more disconcerting than the events earlier today.

Now, he couldn't even work. Whatever it was that was making him like this, it had to stop, and soon, for he discovered that the longer Jounouchi stayed within his thoughts, the more agreeable with it he was becoming. Narrowing his eyes in vexation, Kaiba pushed himself off his chair and started pacing around the room, clearly looking for some form of distraction. It was only Jounouchi, so why couldn't he get him out of his head?

Kaiba closed his eyes and stopped in the middle of the room. If Jounouchi wasn't going to leave his mind then he would just have to clear it. Like so, he blocked out every thought by imagining a clear, empty image in his head, which appeared to be almost like a plain sheet of paper. He carried on like that for a few minutes, but as he delved deeper into the blankness of his mentality, colors started to appear as a result of that, until all that he saw was a pale yellow that had completely washed over everything.

It was a yellow that so closely resembled…

"Jounouchi."

His eyes snapped open, heart racing at Jounouchi's sudden--no, gradual--invasion on his thoughts. He realized then that no work was going to get done, despite his best attempts, so he prepared for bed, succumbing to the thoughts of Jounouchi of which there was no escape.

How was he to face him now?

-:i:-

Finishing up the last equation, Jounouchi rolled over onto his back and away from the completed homework. Unfortunately, it was only 9 PM at the latest, and had nothing else to do but to await impending boredom. He could always speculate where his father was, seeing as he still wasn't home at this late hour. Normally, the man would be at home drinking or sleeping, though sometimes he would go out for drinks but rarely. However, today he was nowhere in sight and Jounouchi was sure his father hadn't hinted at any outings last night.

On the other hand, his father could take care of himself so he needn't fret about it. He could always organize his duel deck, something that he hadn't done for a long time, but that wasn't very appealing at the moment.

Ever since the Other Yuugi had departed for the afterlife, everyone became busy with other things once school started again. The only person Jounouchi really talked to was Yuugi, but he could tell that he was still more or less upset over the Other Yuugi's leaving still, so he left it at that. Anzu was busy preparing for dance school in America and Honda was looking for a job, since he had no plans to enter university after high school.

'University…' Jounouchi thought miserably, but pushed it aside.

As for him, he wasn't really doing anything. Although he had already earned enough money to pay for the bills and school expenses, working had become sort of a habit for him that when school started again, he continued to work without really needing it. His excuse for it was that there was still the possibility of running out of money, and since he was given special permission from the school to work(1), why not take advantage of it. But the truth was he wanted something very much.

So, without even realizing it, he had started working to save money for that something he couldn't even attain. It was a stupid dream, he knew, but he couldn't help it; It was the one thing he truly wanted.

Jounouchi turned onto his side, gazing out his open window. Money was a huge enough issue already, so trying to save was pointless. Besides, it was probably not even enough money, so he didn't understand why he bothered. If only he was rich like Kaiba…

"Kami-sama(2), not again!" he shouted aloud, jumping up on his bed to raise his fists at his ceiling. Jounouchi had enough things to deal with, and he didn't mind those daily problems, but with Kaiba's never ending assault on his thoughts, he had had it. Picking up a pillow, Jounouchi tossed it against the wall and sat back down, crossing his arms while glaring out at the city lights.

A part of him actually enjoyed how Kaiba kept residing within his mind, though. He liked constants, since he always had to deal with unexpected things as they came and went. Constants were a pleasant and relaxing change, knowing that they'd never change and would always "be there" for him. In a way, he actually _liked_ Kaiba.

"Like…?" Jounouchi's eyes widened. "No… That can't be it."

His heartbeat quickened. "Not that kind of like… No."

"Katsuya?"

Jumping a little at the voice, Jounouchi scurried off his bed and ran for the front door to greet his father, who stood there dressed in a suit, sober, clean and completely unlike what he was expecting.

"_Tou-san_?" He asked incredulously.

The elder smiled at his son and gestured for him to come over, which Jounouchi did, albeit a bit confusedly. "I've got a job now, Katsuya." His father said.

"J-job!?" Jounouchi screeched, earning a soft chuckle from his father.

"Yes."

Suddenly, he was pulled into a hug, his father holding him tightly, making it seem like he feared he was going to disappear on him any second. "I'm so sorry, Katsya. So sorry…"

Jounouchi didn't know what to do. What was happening? Was he dreaming again?

-:i:-

"Jounouchi-kun!"

He felt dazed. It hadn't been a dream, but his mind still hadn't really processed it.

"Yeah, Yuugi?" he asked, focusing his attention back to the duel.

"It's your turn."

Laughing sheepishly, Jounouchi laid down a monster card in defense mode. Luckily, it was just a fun game and not a tournament or competition one so he could just play for fun. He kind of missed playing Duel Monsters since it had been such a long time. That morning, Yuugi had came up to him and suggested they play Duel Monsters 'to get their minds off things'. Sometimes, Yuugi was just too observant for his own good, but Jounouchi was thankful that his friend still cared.

"So, how are you, Yuugi?" he asked.

"I'm getting better. What about you, Jounouchi-kun?"

"_Me_?" Jounouchi asked in a mock dramatic way, his voice raised just a pitch higher. "What in the world are you talking about? I'm _always_ good."

Yuugi laughed, placing a monster card in attack mode.

"Sorry I didn't call you yesterday," he said.

"No problem, Yuugi." Jounouchi said in his normal voice, grinning as his life points hit zero. "Well, looks like you won again, Game King."

"Don't call me that, Jounouchi-kun."

"Oh. Sorry…"

Jounouchi looked sadly at his friend, realizing his mistake. No matter how much he wanted to help Yuugi, he couldn't, because it was something he didn't understand. He wished that there was some way to cheer Yuugi up--who would have known that the Other Yuugi's departure would have such an impact. You'd think that it would have been Anzu who would be suffering like that, but it wasn't.

Shifting his gaze away from the now quiet Yuugi, Jounouchi's eyes wandered the classroom, until they finally landed on a lone figure in the back, Kaiba, who sensed at once that someone was watching him. Kaiba looked away from his book to meet soft brown eyes. Jounouchi flinched upon catching the other's attention.

_Like_.

He wanted to say something to Kaiba, but couldn't find the right words.

Not wanting to think what that meant, Jounouchi looked away and stood up from his seat. Kaiba was giving him a strange look, too, like he wanted to talk to him but couldn't, and that was just too weird.

"Jounouchi-kun?"

He needed to get away before those eyes pulled him into doing something that would change their relationship, completely discounting the fact that their relationship had already changed from the moment he accepted his infatuation for Kaiba.

_Like_.

'What a strange word,' he thought bemusedly.

"I'm going to go freshen up a little, okay?"

"Okay…" Noticing the troubled look, Jounouchi patted Yuugi on the back.

"Don't worry! I just need to clear my head a little. It's nothing like yesterday!"

Yuugi nodded and let him go. Relieved that Yuugi wasn't going to push, he ran away from the classroom and straight for the boys' restroom, exhaling sharply upon arriving there. Jounouchi mentally thanked Kami-sama that there was no else in the restroom with him, allowing him to have it all to himself. Picking the nearest sink, Jounouchi twisted its knob and watched as water rushed out of its faucet. While the water flowed, he cupped his hands to catch some in order to splash his face with it.

"Mmm… much better." Jounouchi smiled at himself in the mirror, but frowned when a shadow passed by.

"Talking to yourself, bonkotsu?"

'GAH!' came his mental yell of something of a mix between surprise and anger.

"Kaiba," he snarled, quickly spinning around to glare at the other. "You…" Jounouchi stared.

He wanted to say, yell or scream something at the brunet but why couldn't he? Why did he stop like that? Why was Kaiba also staring at him without saying a word?

The atmosphere surrounding them felt strange, suffocating almost. Jounouchi's insides twisted as his body's temperature rose and his breathing quickened.

'What's wrong with me?' he wondered.

Kaiba wasn't faring that well either. When he had seen Jounouchi's face as a reflection in the mirror, nothing seemed wrong, but when the blonde turned around and directed those eyes at him, he felt lost. Not really--it was more that the vulnerable, defensive look Jounouchi often bared around him had taken on a different meaning of sorts for him, and he was itching to do _something_.

"K-Kaiba…" Jounouchi wanted to say something--anything. "I…"

But it was so hard, and Kaiba wasn't saying anything, just staring at him unblinkingly as his hands twitched, appearing as if they ached to do something. The blonde wondered if Kaiba wanted to hit him, cringing when those hands rose as if to do what he thought they would. However, those hands never touched him. Instead, they remained floating in the air, their owner unsure of what he was trying to do.

Had he actually wanted to embrace Jounouchi?

After a few minutes of awkward silence, Kaiba simply left without even saying a word. He just _left_.

Jounouchi collapsed to the floor and clutched his shirt tightly in his fists.

"What was _that_?" he asked himself.

-:i:-

Dropping down into his seat, Jounouchi waited for the crowd to disperse. They were so noisy, and he had stopped trying to eavesdrop on their conversations, which were boring anyway. During some time ago, their voices had mingled into a dull and annoying hum, and that was all he could hear. Wishing that they'd leave already, Jounouchi kicked the table in front of him. School had already ended, so why were they still there?

Out of the blue, he felt eyes on him. He faced toward the front of the class, and there stood Kaiba, holding his metal briefcase as usual, but he was giving him such an intense gaze that Jounouchi wanted to look away. Behind him, the noise faded to nothing as Kaiba continued to stare at him. Kaiba had been staring at him so many times today since the restroom incident, and Jounouchi couldn't help but question if there was something wrong with his face.

After what seemed like hours, Kaiba broke eye contact and went on his way. Sighing in relief, Jounouchi returned to wishing that everyone else would leave already. The noise level had also returned with Kaiba's departure, and once again he found himself listening to a dull hum. There was no way he'd be able to face Mizuki-sensei with all those people around, especially since it was only a short time before the club she was in charge of arrived at the classroom.

Finally, at long last, the last person in the classroom was out, and Jounouchi sprinted to action, running up to the front of the room in a matter of seconds. "Mizuki-sensei!" He called.

"Ah, Jounouchi-kun," she said with some surprise, "What are you still doing here? You're not one to stay behind after class." (3)

"Um… Well… About yesterday…"

Mizuki-sensei's eyes lit up, understanding exactly what Jounouchi wanted to talk about. "You've considered it?" she asked with a smile.

"Yeah…"

"And…?"

"I really want to attend university, Mizuki-sensei. Please tell me what I have to do."

"That's great. I'll help you all I can."

Jounouchi gulped, swallowing down the lump that had formed. "Thank you," he said, voice laced heavily with a combination of sorrow and happiness. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, Jounouchi-kun."

"Thank you."

-:i:-

Jounouchi was skipping happily down the stairs. He did it. No, he was going to do it. He was going to try for university. His dream was on the way to becoming true, and there was nothing else in the world he'd rather experience than the joy he was currently feeling. He couldn't wait until he told Yuugi, which reminded him that his friend was still waiting for him at the school entrance. Yuugi had apparently wanted to cheer him up, due of his lack of enthusiasm over the past week, so he had invited Jounouchi to go to the arcade with him.

Making up his mind to greet Yuugi with the biggest smile ever to make up for the past week, he raced down the last few steps and straight out the front doors of the school building only to ram smack into someone, sending him flying backwards toward the ground. 'What luck,' he thought bitterly.

But before he could hit the ground, two hands came flying toward his shoulders, pulling him up and right into a warm chest.

'Mmm… smells nice,' he thought absentmindedly, losing himself in the sensation. It almost felt like the embrace he had gotten in his dream, only much, much better. He was about to enjoy the hold more when a voice brought him back to reality.

"Must I always save you from your klutzy self, bonkotsu?"

Throwing himself as far away from the one holding him as possible, Jounouchi snarled out, "Kaiba!"

"Nice to see you too." Kaiba smirked.

"What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be at Kaiba Corp or something?" Jounouchi interrogated accusingly.

"Why, I'm here to save your sorry ass since you always seem so inclined to fall all over the place(4)," mocked the brunet.

"_Kaiba_--"

Gasping as Kaiba roughly pulled him closer so that their faces were mere centimeters apart, he couldn't help but blush bright red at their now extremely close proximity.

_Like_.

"Be careful when you're walking, bonkotsu. I won't always be around to save you." With that said, Kaiba released him, sending him tottering a few steps back. Jounouchi glared at him defiantly.

"I don't need your help," he gritted out, clenching his fists in anger.

"So it might seem."

Jounouchi blinked, his anger completely gone, and stared perplexedly at Kaiba, contemplating what the brunet had meant by that.

Kaiba noticed the look and stared right back, eyes boring into the blonde. "What?" he asked, almost affectionate with worry, though it was probably more on Jounouchi's stupidity than his well being. Jounouchi's heartbeat quickened at the sight of Kaiba's serious expression. Had Kaiba always looked so handsome?

_Like_.

'Say something--anything!' Jounouchi screamed at himself.

"Nothing. It's nothing."

Snorting at the blonde's reply, Kaiba grabbed his briefcase from the ground and walked down the school steps toward the entrance, and what his words meant came rushing at Jounouchi. He finally understood it. Kaiba had been the one who saved him yesterday, and he was the one from his dream. As this unearthing weighed down inside Jounouchi's mind, Kaiba kept walking away, never once looking back. At this, an unfathomable desire to say something arose even more.

_Like_.

But what could he say?

"Nothing at all…"

-:i:-

To Be Continued…

(1) Japanese students attending high school and below are not allowed to work, but Jounouchi is given special permission to work so that he could pay for his school fees. (It's also why Anzu was so upset when Yuugi and Katsu-chan found out about her working, afraid that they'd tell the school on her, though I do believe it was different in the English dub?)  
(2) Kami-sama: "God"  
(3) Mizuki-sensei is also their homeroom teacher, so I would assume she uses that room for club activities. Remember, Japanese students only stay in one room, unless it's a class that requires certain facilities (like gym or lab).  
(4) Kaiba is not only referring to what happened "yesterday" and right then, but also during the Doma arc, when he caught Jounouchi before he slid off Honda's back.

* * *

Next time…  
_Chapter Three: Breakthrough_

A/N: I lied about Kaiba's dueling technology. I'm rethinking what I want it to be so it'll be introduced in the _next_ chapter. Har har. Those of you who read my one-shot "Sand Castles" good news! I _will_ definitely be drawing a comic version of one of the scenes (it's a secret), so look forward to that!

People who want to view my art and/or wish to learn about Japanese schools, but don't have an LJ, e-mail me and we'll work something out.

Phew, is it just me or was this chapter longer than the first? Reviews are much appreciated! Updates will be slower now that I'm about to start university. I gotta pack and stuff! Sorry guys!

Eh, this chapter was okay. The next chapter will be better. :)


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugiou, so there! Takahashi-sensei does!

A/N: Blargh. Originally, I had intended this chapter to be released on Seto's b-day but I couldn't make it because _stuff happens_. Well, at least I'm only three days late. Happy belated b-day, Seto-chan! And happy early Halloween to everyone! Wow, I updated right in between the two important dates…

This chapter is dedicated to **Dah-ling** and **Babe**.

(…I finally finished drawing the pic for **Beautiful**'s prologue and there's a link in my profile, but it's sort of hidden--have fun searching! However, this is the only time you will see any art posted here, because until I make a website, artworks will only be posted at my fandom LJ and the yahoo group littleDragon.)

* * *

A KaiJou story by Miso Soup Productions (formerly known as "Misori Chan")  
**Beautiful**  
_Chapter Three - Breakthrough_  
On the radio: torn apart (from the Bleach soundtrack)

-:i:-

Glancing down at his watch, Jounouchi noticed he was once again early for school. Much to his disappointment, however, it wasn't because he was doing it in order to become a better student; rather, it was due to his recently realized feelings toward Kaiba, although he wasn't ready to fully admit it to himself just yet. All he understood, and was willing to accept at the moment, was that there was more to what he felt for Kaiba than he had believed.

During his time spent around Kaiba, Jounouchi had learned a few things about the brunet. One such thing he had learned was that Kaiba was the type of person who actually _enjoyed_ getting up early and arriving at places early. It was probably part of being a businessman; at least, that's what he assumed it was. So, without realizing it, Jounouchi had begun a routine of waking up early just so he could reach school before Kaiba did.

Maybe it was his competitive edge taking over. Maybe he just wanted to see Kaiba. Whatever it was, it made him feel horribly, terribly excited.

_Like_.

Sighing quietly to himself, Jounouchi peeked inside the classroom. There was no sign of Kaiba.

Of course there wasn't. After all, it was thirty minutes before Kaiba usually appeared at school. Jounouchi went to his desk and languidly plopped down onto his seat. With his cheeks resting on top of his palms, he stared in boredom out the classroom windows. Lacking in something to do, he began to think of Kaiba. Clouds were nice and all, but he just didn't feel like it today.

Jounouchi didn't _want_ to think of Kaiba; his mind simply chose to go into that direction, and there wasn't much he could do about it. There _was_ the possibility of picturing Kaiba losing a duel to him; that was always something fun to think about.

Still, no matter how hard he tried to create a mental scene of Kaiba losing a duel to him, he couldn't. What plagued his thoughts in its place was Kaiba's strange behavior just a week ago, which kept playing over and over like an old, battered VHS in his head. What's more, Jounouchi kept on hearing the same two questions echoing inside his head: Had Kaiba always been that handsome? And why hadn't he ever noticed it before?

Another sigh escaped him--this time a long and weary one. Jounouchi scrunched his eyes shut. Since that time, they had started ignoring each other, acting as if what happened that day never did. The only problem with that was that it was one-sided avoidance. Jounouchi himself wasn't participating in any of that, and he had even tried on several occasions to talk to Kaiba. He didn't know much what to say, but something pulled at him--begged him to talk to Kaiba, even if he didn't have anything to say.

"Kaiba…"

Thoughts of Kaiba were always so painful.

"Kaiba…"

And yet, he couldn't help them; even _enjoyed_ them at that.

Sometimes, he could swear he was a masochist. Worn out, Jounouchi laid his head down to rest, deciding that maybe it was better to catch some more sleep before the crowd came. 'Stupid Kaiba… Always on my mind…' were his last thoughts before sleep claimed him.

-:i:-

'It would be great if Kaiba didn't exist.' Jounouchi thought as he watched the brunet out of the corner of his eyes, but that was proving to be a pretty hard task, considering how Kaiba sat at the back of the room.

If Kaiba didn't exist, he wouldn't have to experience such a horrible desire to constantly seek him out among even a sea of people, and this had been a regular occurrence long before Jounouchi had discovered his feelings meant something else entirely.

On the bright side, Kaiba was usually reading a book, so even if he were to blatantly stare at the brunet, he probably wouldn't even sense it. Despite his inner musings, though, Jounouchi was glad Kaiba existed. He didn't want to admit it, but Kaiba had been an important part in shaping him to be who he was now. Needless to say, Kaiba would probably never know about that, especially not from Jounouchi's mouth.

"Jounouchi-kun!"

Fighting down the urge to jump at the unexpected interruption on his thoughts, Jounouchi casually shifted his gaze away from Kaiba and craned his neck up to see who was calling for him, only to be greeted with a slightly pouting Yuugi. "Yeah?"

Unfortunately, this proved only to irk Yuugi more, who pulled his lips down into a frown. "_Jounouchi-kun_, I've been calling your name for the past five minutes and you grace me with a simple 'yeah'?!"

Running a hand sheepishly through his hair, Jounouchi indicated for Yuugi to sit down, in which Yuugi complied by taking a seat across from him. "Sorry…"

"What's wrong, Jounouchi-kun? You've been a lot more spacey lately." Yuugi asked, honestly concerned about the well being of his friend.

"Eh? Really?"

"Really!"

Chuckling affectionately, the blonde reached over to ruffle Yuugi's hair, who in turned slapped his hand away and shot him an upset glare. Yuugi was always so caring that he couldn't help but find him so adorably cute.

Jounouchi raised his hands up in defense and smiled winningly. "Nothing. It's nothing." For a long moment, Yuugi scrutinized his friend, but he wasn't rewarded with anything other than that familiar smile so he settled down in defeat. If Jounouchi didn't want to tell him, then there was nothing he could do to get him to reveal what it was he was hiding from him. For now, he'd have to cope with waiting, but that didn't mean he would stop worrying.

As usual, Jounouchi made a move to change the topic so that Yuugi would be distracted from his constant worrying. "So, I heard that you're going on a date with Anzu today." Instantly, the awkward moment lifted and Jounouchi's affairs were temporarily forgotten.

Yuugi sent the blonde a warning glare. "It's not a date."

"I know, I know! I was just joking, okay?" There was no response. Jounouchi bit his lip in worry, contemplating what the correct thing for him to say was. "I'm sorry, Yuugi. I was just trying to cheer you up," he finally said.

"I know."

"Then what is it?" Sighing, Yuugi laid his head down on the table and mindlessly stared off into space.

"It's just… We're going to be talking about… About _him_ today."

"Oh."

Silence fell upon the two friends. _Him_ meant the Other Yuugi, or Atemu to be exact. Jounouchi didn't know what to say. He knew that Yuugi still had strong feelings for the Other Yuugi, and there was also that part of him that didn't understand what it meant to lose someone who had been virtually a part of you. At times like these, he regretted his choice in changing the topic.

"Jounouchi-kun?"

"What is it?" The blonde replied instantaneously, relieved that he didn't have to be the one to break the silence.

"Do you think it's good idea to have this talk with her?"

Smiling gently, Jounouchi replied in his most sincere and serious voice. "Of course it is. You two need this talk." As these words were said, Yuugi fiddled with the sleeves of his uniform blazer, drinking in the words like water. Before, a small part of him did think it was a good idea, but a greater part of him completely smothered it with anxiety, so it felt good to have someone reassure him.

"Thanks, Jounouchi-kun."

Jounouchi grinned. "No problem, Yuugi. It'll be okay, so don't you worry!"

"Right." Yuugi smiled wearily, amazed by how simple it was for things turn positive with Jounouchi around. "So, what are you doing today?"

"Oh, just another meeting with Mizuki-sensei."

"What? Again?"

As of late, Jounouchi had been having frequent meetings with Mizuki-sensei, and it was starting to bear down on Yuugi. He wondered if his friend was in trouble again, or if there was something terribly wrong and Jounouchi was keeping it a secret from him. That would definitely explain the recent odd behavior, but Yuugi had never bothered to ask about it since Jounouchi was the type of person who would tell you such things if he wanted you to know.

The fact that Jounouchi still hadn't revealed anything to him hurt him, but he respected his friend, so he left things the way they were. Still, to have so many meetings with a teacher couldn't be a good sign, and it was really starting to bug him.

With each passing second, Jounouchi could sense the increasing feeling of distress emitting from Yuugi, hence he chose to stop his friend at that moment before anything could happen. "Don't worry, Yuugi. It's nothing bad, I swear!"

"Jounouchi-kun…"

"I'm not in trouble or anything…"

Yuugi groaned exasperatedly and decided to let it go. "Alright, but only because I have to go now, else I'll be late."

"Okay!" Yuugi half glared at Jounouchi, who had sounded more than just a little happy with the prospect of him leaving.

"See you tomorrow, Jounouchi-kun."

"See you!"

With Yuugi finally gone, Jounouchi slouched tiredly back against his seat and closed his eyes in relief. It wasn't that he didn't want to tell Yuugi, nor was it that he wanted to keep what he was doing a secret. He just felt like it was something he needed to do on his own for once, without having to rely on his friends. That was his decision and he was going to stick to it. Yuugi would have to wait a little longer before he could have the truth.

Jounouchi turned his head a little into the direction of Kaiba's seat. Kaiba was gone, of course. The CEO had no reason to stay after school, and he probably had better things to do with his time anyway, like running Kaiba Corp, for example, or watching over Mokuba. Irritated by how much Kaiba was unrelentingly occupying his thoughts, Jounouchi tried to cease anything Kaiba related from entering his mind, but something caught his attention--a book lying atop Kaiba's table.

Could it be? Jounouchi rubbed his eyes a couple of times to make sure that it wasn't a hallucination. There was no way he'd be that lucky, right? Dazedly, he stood up and walked over to Kaiba's seat. Once there, he placed a careful palm on top of the book. It was real. Jounouchi's heart beat quickened.

He knew he was just being hopeful, but this was still a chance for him to have an excuse to finally talk to Kaiba.

"Bonkotsu."

Swiftly spinning around, Jounouchi inconspicuously hid his newfound treasure behind his back. "Kaiba!" he exclaimed, a nervous smile planted on his face. All the while he was overwhelmed by how Kaiba had managed to sneak up on him like that without his knowing.

Kaiba looked at Jounouchi with little interest, but he did appear somewhat troubled, judging by the way his eyebrows were furrowed and his reluctance to say anything more, especially since he kept glancing around the classroom as if in search of something. Jounouchi knew exactly what it was Kaiba was looking for, but he found himself speechless and unwilling to do anything at the sight of the brunet.

Returning his attention to Jounouchi, Kaiba grudgingly spoke to him. "Have you seen a book?"

"A book?" Jounouchi echoed. "What kind of book?"

Frustrated, Kaiba took hold of Jounouchi's shoulders and pulled him closer so that their faces were mere inches away from touching. The CEO leered down at Jounouchi, his eyes seeking out some sort of answer to his question, but all he received for his effort was a blank look. In the meantime, Jounouchi was frantically trying to command his heart to stop beating so fast out of fear that it might abruptly stop.

"Kaiba…"

Jounouchi swallowed a lump and took a calming breath. Kaiba was too close, and it was not helping his heart rate much.

This got Kaiba's attention, and he _really_ looked at Jounouchi. Cheeks lightly pink and eyes determinedly dodging Kaiba's cold gaze--Jounouchi made a picture that under normal circumstances would have caused Kaiba to immediately push the blonde away, but some uncontrollable part of him made him pull him closer instead. Jounouchi blushed deeper when Kaiba's face moved closer to his, but he remained motionless, although the sensation of Kaiba's warm breath on his cheek was starting to make him dizzy. His mind screamed at him to push Kaiba away, but the brunet's grip on him tightened on reflex at the slight shift of his muscles.

"Kaiba…"

"Shut up, bonkotsu."

"Who are you calling bonkotsu, you bastard!?"

Kaiba didn't know why it was, but the way Jounouchi said his name bothered him.

Trying as best as he could not to wince in pain as Kaiba's grip became tighter still--if that was even possible--Jounouchi finally met Kaiba's gaze with pleading eyes but was stunned by the sight that befell him. He found himself regretting his action. The look in Kaiba's eyes was unyielding yet gentle; it made him feel trapped. The scary part of it was that he wasn't sure whether or not he disliked it. Now at a complete loss for words, all he could do was stare helplessly back into Kaiba's eyes.

Without warning, Kaiba leaned down so that his cheek brushed against Jounouchi's, and now he could feel Kaiba's warm breath on his ear, which resulted in shivers running down his spine. "Kaiba…?"

"…"

At the lack of any response, Jounouchi panicked and started struggling against Kaiba's hold. What was Kaiba doing?

"K-kaiba!" Kaiba glared; Jounouchi was saying his name in that same way again. "S-stop… Stop it…"

"…"

Acting as if it were the most normal thing in the world to do, Kaiba released him, turned around and wordlessly left the room. With his hands clutched tightly around Kaiba's book and his heart beating wildly against his chest, Jounouchi couldn't help but feel a strange sense of déjà vu.

"Jounouchi-kun?"

"Aah!" Jounouchi jumped at the sound of his name being called. After that bizarre incident with Kaiba, it was a shock to hear someone's voice other than his own. There at the entrance of the classroom stood Mizuki-sensei, her face an expression of curiosity and worry. "Sensei…"

Warily, she entered the classroom, afraid that she might have just disturbed something precious. "Is something the matter, Jounouchi-kun?" she asked.

"Eh? Oh, it's nothing… Nothing…" She knew he wasn't telling the truth, but it wasn't her place to ask any further.

"Alright then, let's start. I have many things to tell you today…"

Jounouchi nodded keenly, grateful that his sensei chose to leave his business alone this time, and walked closer to where she stood, Kaiba's book still in his hands.

-:i:-

Kaiba rubbed his temples, sighed and placed some company documents he'd been looking over down onto the table. Over the past few weeks, he'd been trying desperately to find the solution to his problem, which was to finalize the blue prints for his new dueling technology. However, with each time that he approached a solution, his mind would design a whole different idea that appeared to be even better, so he would start changing it, only to change his mind again and again. He was now at the point where he just wanted to get away from his work for a few days so that he could rethink every possibility.

The bigger problem was that it wasn't even his creativity this time that was causing his indecisiveness(1). No, it was a whole different matter, one that Kaiba wasn't sure he opposed or not. Whereas it was certainly proving to help him with his new dueling technology, it was also not, which was a tragedy all in itself, and Kaiba was getting tired of his work being interfered. That virus a few weeks back was enough to put him on edge, but now as a result of his own personal matters, he was getting behind his self imposed deadline. There was no way he'd be done with the prototypes by the end of the month now.

"Damn bonkotsu."

"Excuse me?"

Kaiba mentally cursed; he had forgotten he was in a board meeting. "It's nothing." Glaring at the one that had dared to disrupt his thoughts, Kaiba linked his hands together on the table. "What do you have?"

That man flinched under the gaze, but didn't falter in his report. "Ah, right. We've found the culprit for the virus."

"And?"

"Well…"

While his board discussed how they'd handle the new information, Kaiba returned to figuring out his own and more important matters, assuming that the board could handle a simple problem like that without his input. First, he decided, he would have to rid his thoughts of Jounouchi. That way he'd be free to make decisions again and have the blue prints for his new dueling technology completed at long last. The only problem was it was easier said than done. As Jounouchi continued to occupy his mind, Kaiba considered what might have happened if he hadn't walked away from Jounouchi.

Then again, he needed some time away from the blonde to think over what he'd discover about himself and his feelings.

-:i:-

"_I'm sorry, Jounouchi-kun." _

"_No, it's okay. You've helped me enough, sensei." _

"_I'm really sorry." _

"_It's okay! I'll manage somehow, so don't you worry!" _

"_Jounouchi-kun…" _

"_Really, I'll be fine."_

"What am I going to do?" Jounouchi asked himself aloud whilst making his way to Honda's house. According to Mizuki-sensei, he only had about a month's time left before the university exams, and that meant the time he had left for studying was very little, not to mention be was horrible at science. Everything else Jounouchi was pretty good at--he was particularly good at English--but science was an entirely different story. Furthermore, there was no way Mizuki-sensei could help him study, since she, too, was short on time due the imminent day of graduation.

Groaning in frustrated unease, Jounouchi continued down to path toward Honda's house. On normal days he wouldn't _think_ of going to a friend's house this late, but after what Mizuki-sensei had discussed with him and what had happened with Kaiba, he really needed someone to talk to, even though Honda probably wouldn't understand the Kaiba part or the university part.

Besides, he didn't want his friends to know about his plans, so going to Honda's house for comfort was more like a last resort kind of thing, but he did care very much for his friend. Honda just wasn't the type of person that he would spill his heart to, and Jounouchi didn't want to bother Yuugi because he knew he had other things on his mind already--what with his talk with Anzu today and the departure of the Other Yuugi.

That was it.

"Anzu!" Jounouchi shouted excitedly. "Why didn't I think of her before? She's probably done with talking with Yuugi by now." With that in mind, Jounouchi switched destinations and crossed the street toward the direction of Anzu's house. 'Maybe I can have dinner there too,' he thought with a smile. Sure, he liked his own cooking, except he liked Anzu's mother's cooking more seeing as it had a different feel to it than his own. His cooking was indeed delicious, but it never had that same feeling of 'home' to it.

Shaking his head, Jounouchi cleared his mind of such thoughts. There was no time that now, and he didn't want to make it sound like Anzu's mother was a replacement one for him. That wasn't the case at all. It was just he missed having a family dinner sometimes--one that included more than just him and his father…

Several moments later, Jounouchi was at the front step of Anzu's house, but uncertainty was eating at him on the inside. "Well, let's get this over with," he said, ringing the doorbell before he could back out. Seconds later, the door opened, and a surprised looking Anzu hesitantly greeted him.

"…Jounouchi… What are you doing here?"

"Uh, hi. Can I come in?" Anzu nodded, moving to the side for him to enter the house.

"What's wrong, Jounouchi?"

Scratching his head, Jounouchi frowned at her and sat himself down on one of the living room couches. "Why do you think there's something wrong?" Anzu sat down with him and gave him a pointed look.

"Jounouchi, you rarely visit me. There _must_ be something wrong." Jounouchi pouted a little, but didn't refute her, since she was right on target, though it wasn't necessarily 'something wrong'. What he needed was to sort out some things, and Anzu was the perfect person to help him out with it. Despite it being strange for him to rely on Anzu, she had always been like an older sister to him, even if she was younger than him. There was just something soothing about her presence that he could always rely on, especially for things like… Kaiba.

'Stupid Kaiba,' Jounouchi thought, taking a deep breath to calm himself. With eyes closed in apprehension, he tried to think of how he'd approach the issue.

"Anzu, How… How do you know that you like someone?"

Anzu did a double take and presented Jounouchi an incredulous look. Quickly regaining her posture, she settled back onto the couch and lazily stared up at the ceiling, the expression on her face an unreadable one. "Why do you want to know?"

"You liked the Other Yuugi--no, Atemu. Didn't you?"

Refusing to face Jounouchi, she shifted to the side, away from his inquiring gaze. "Was I that obvious?"

"You're not going to deny it?" he asked in surprise.

"No, there's no reason for me to," she admitted, face tightening and body tensing. The topic of Atemu was too much for her, and she had had enough of talk about him for one day. Nevertheless, something was bothering Jounouchi so she kept her discomfort to herself.

"And?"

Shifting again, Anzu moved until she was facing Jounouchi. "And what?" He flicked her forehead, receiving an angry glare in return.

"How did you know?"

"I just did."

"Oh."

Abruptly, Anzu grabbed Jounouchi's shoulders to bring him closer, her eyes shining with realization. "It can't be…" she muttered. "Jounouchi, do you like someone?" Jounouchi promptly shoved Anzu away and stood up in something akin to embarrassment and anger.

"I do not," he gritted out.

"You do!" Anzu shot up along with him, peering at him enthusiastically. For the longest time, she had believed that Jounouchi would never like anyone, seeing as how he was more interested in porn and teasing girls than any actual fondness or attraction for anyone. "Who? Tell me who!" she demanded eagerly. "Is it Mai-san!?" This time, Jounouchi was the one to have an incredulous look on his face.

"What? Mai? Why would I like Mai? She's my friend."

"Jounouchi…" Gasping, Anzu raised a hand to her lips in shock.

"What?"

Anzu had always known Jounouchi was a little bit on the ignorant side when it came to things like romance, but she would have never thought he was _this_ ignorant. To think, she had always thought that his indifference toward Mai's feelings was that he wasn't ready for relationships. This was something completely different. "Don't you know, Jounouchi?" she asked, awed. "Mai-san likes you."

"What!? Since when!? How… ?"

Anzu slumped back onto the couch. "You didn't know…" she whispered softly, forgetting briefly that Jounouchi was still there.

"Huh?"

"You didn't know…"

"Anzu? What's wrong?" From where she sat, bewildered, Anzu tiredly looked up at Jounouchi, his face filled with confusion. Everything made sense now--Jounouchi's lack of a girlfriend and his obliviousness to anyone's feelings (Mai hadn't been the first one to like him). Suddenly, she found herself feeling sorry for Mai, whose feelings were apparently unrequited and would probably remain that way. Anzu sighed, but didn't dwell too long on it, since it wasn't really her problem.

"And? Who is it then?"

"Huh?"

"Who do you like?" repeated Anzu.

Jounouchi made a frustrated noise. "I _told_ you already. There's no one!"

"Right." Anzu threw Jounouchi a disappointed look and his shoulders sagged a little at the sight of it. He was a bit surprised, though, when the disapproving look changed into one of bitterness and longing. So used to a spirited Anzu, never once in his life did Jounouchi think he'd see her wear such a face. It terrified him, especially since her emotions were as clear as water--to the point that he could actually _feel_ them. "Jounouchi, did you know?" she mused. "… I've always been aware that Atemu never liked me in that way."

"Eh?"

"I knew. I _knew_. And yet I couldn't help it. I couldn't stop my feelings."

"Anzu--"

"You must think I'm a fool."

"No, I--"

"But you know what? I enjoyed every moment of it. Every moment." Jounouchi looked at her, stunned. He could hear the unspoken words through her voice: Every aching, bittersweet moment. "That's why, Jounouchi. That's why it's alright to like someone."

"Anzu…" It was then that Jounouchi finally _saw_ the hurt written on her face, the unbidden feelings for someone she knew would and never did like her in same way she did. The intensity of that look made his heart clench, and he instinctively pulled Anzu into a comforting hug. "It's okay." Now it was Anzu's turn to shove Jounouchi away.

"Baka(3), I know that," she stated in a broken voice.

"I know," Jounouchi said with a fond smile. "But sometimes, it's good to have someone remind you of such things."

"I won't listen to the words of someone who refuses to admit he likes someone."

"Fine. Fine. I get it. I like someone. Are you happy now?"

Anzu smiled gently at him, her pain momentarily pushed aside for the sake of her friend. "So, what are you going to do about it?" she asked. Sitting back down, Jounouchi held his head in his hands, voice shaky with exhaustion from all the emotional strain of the day.

"I… I don't know…"

-:i:-

The streets were practically empty without a single person in sight. Kaiba thought it was only natural--the rain outside was exceptionally harsh today. Had he been outside himself he would have definitely sought out shelter right away. Luckily for him, he had his limousine so there was no need for that. Giving the rain one last look, he thought, 'Only an idiot would be out during weather this bad.'

Kaiba removed his eyes from the tinted windows to the folder on his lap. Inside the folder were all the ideas that he had gone through so far over the past week, all of which were unsatisfactory as a result of his constant remaking of the prototypes. This was the first time he had ever had such a problem with developing dueling technology, and it was grating on his last nerves. He felt caged. As a man who lived for the future, Kaiba Seto did not enjoy the feeling of being held down.

What he detested most was he only had himself to blame.

Despite knowing that he could put all the blame on a specific person--one Jounouchi Katsuya--he didn't, not because he was kind but because of his pride. How or why didn't matter. What mattered was he had somehow grown to _like_ Jounouchi and that was causing him difficulties with his work, but since it was self inflicted, he had no one to blame but himself. It wasn't as if Jounouchi had put a spell on him.

Kaiba slammed his fist down on his briefcase, which had been lying on the seat next to him, startling his chauffeur. Fortunately, they had just reached Kaiba's mansion. Not bothering to wait for his driver to open the door, Kaiba opened it himself and swiftly strode down the pathway to the mansion front door. Not long after, he was there, but before he could open the front door, it swung open to reveal a tensed Mokuba.

"Nii-sama!" he exclaimed, receiving a raised eyebrow from his elder brother.

"What is it, Mokuba?" Kaiba asked, a bit worried by the anxious look on the younger one's face.

"Jounouchi… He…"

-:i:-

"_If you really like that person, you mustn't deny yourself of it."_

Jounouchi looked up at the darkened sky, Anzu words still fresh in his mind. To like someone was something foreign to him. Without his own knowing, he had grown up surprisingly innocent when romance was involved. Ever since the first year of high school, pornography had been his share of "romance", and until now, he had been satisfied with just that. Liking someone wasn't something he had ever considered; having to hold down multiple jobs while taking care of his father barely left him with any spare time, much less time for any infatuation.

Then there was his downfall. As a result of his circumstances, he became careful when it came to relationships, friends or otherwise, having had experienced the negative effects of one as a child. But just like any other person, Jounouchi liked having people around, so he sought out relationships anyway, although he steered clear of anything that might result in "romance".

He allowed people into his heart but never fully. A part of him wanted to be adored, but another part of him was afraid of it. Now he was faced with these strange, newfound feelings toward Kaiba, something he had never experienced with anyone before. It scared him.

Closing his eyes, Jounouchi allowed himself to feel the rain against his skin. 'For now,' he thought, 'I won't think about it.'

-:i:-

"Nii-sama, you have to go see him!"

After what his brother had just told him, Kaiba wasn't sure he wanted to go after Jounouchi. Over the last few minutes, Mokuba had related to him what had gotten him so fretful. From that, he learned of Jounouchi's earlier call to the household, asking for a Kaiba Seto to answer the phone. Upon finding that it was Mokuba, the blonde had asked him to tell his brother as soon as he was back to meet him at Domino Park, where he'd be waiting for him so that he could properly thank him for 'that time'.

The notion alone was ridiculous, but the reason behind it made the entire thing absurd. However, Kaiba was intrigued. Jounouchi wanted to thank him for something, an occurrence that didn't even seem possible until that very moment. But to go out in the rain for something like that appeared pointless, and there was the chance of Jounouchi playing a prank on him.

On the other hand, if Jounouchi's motives were honest, would he really wait for Kaiba in the rain?

'He would,' Kaiba answered himself, somewhat surprised by how automatic his reply was.

"I'll go." Mokuba beamed at his brother, very content with the choice he made.

About thirty minutes later, Kaiba was walking down Domino Park's paths in search of Jounouchi, an umbrella in one hand and the other hand fisted in annoyance. To say the least, he was pissed, having had to search for the one who had called him out for the past ten minutes in the pouring rain, and he was seriously beginning to believe this was all just a prank.

Just as he was about to go home, though, he spotted a lone figure standing not too far away from where he was. "That idiot. That fucking _idiot_." Without another moment's haste, Kaiba marched over to where Jounouchi stood, ready to insult him for being such a moron and for calling him out during such awful weather. When Kaiba reached where Jounouchi stood, he saw that the blonde didn't have an umbrella with him. All he had was a flimsy jacket that looked too big on him, making him appear skinnier than usual.

And he had his eyes closed, his palms held up to catch the rain. Kaiba wanted to punch him.

"You fucking _idiot_," Kaiba snarled, snapping Jounouchi out of his trance and getting his attention. Jounouchi jumped and little and placed a hand where his heart was, an indignant glare on his face.

"Kaiba, don't sneak up on people like that! You really scared me!" If he wasn't in such a bad mood, Kaiba would have felt some guilt; Jounouchi looked so pitiful with his hair and clothes drenched from being in the rain too long, not to mention he was shivering from the cold.

"You deserved it," the CEO simply stated. Jounouchi looked at him, battling between whether to scream at Kaiba or not, and in the end chose not to, turning to his side so he wouldn't have to look at the other young man anymore. He returned to what he was doing before Kaiba rudely interrupted him. The rain felt nice after all, and it helped a great deal in clearing his mind and allowing him to think without interference. This was something new and he definitely needed a source of comfort to go through with it.

How weird--he was just trying to thank Kaiba, but it was turning out to be something bigger than he had first thought. A simple thanks didn't normally affect him this much, but then again, this was Kaiba, and that alone was enough to make all the difference.

Kaiba watched Jounouchi expectantly, but the blonde ignored him and carried on with what he was doing. Yet, even with this deliberate action of disregard, he found himself unwilling to capture Jounouchi's attention again, not when the blonde looked so peaceful and undisturbed standing there in the rain--so alone and lost in some place he couldn't reach.

"Kaiba," Jounouchi said, breaking the trance they didn't even realize they were in. "Thank you for all you've done." Even with his eyes now directed at Kaiba, he said it in such an offhanded voice that the brunet couldn't help but feel like Jounouchi was talking to someone else, almost as if there was a shadow behind him--a shadow of himself. "I know you probably did it because I was in your way," Jounouchi continued. "But thanks anyway." The rain thundered in Kaiba's ears, combined with the noise right atop his head every time the raindrops hit his umbrella.

Jounouchi looked away, his face once again turning up toward the sky to feel the rain; he wanted to stay there a little bit longer. Continuing to watch Jounouchi, Kaiba didn't know what to think as the rain continued to fall down on them. To Kaiba, the rain acted like a barrier between him and Jounouchi--how he wanted to just smother his desire to reach out for Jounouchi, who was so close within his grasp, yet so far away.

"… Fucking idiot," Kaiba muttered under his breath as he made his resolution.

The rain kept falling.

Kaiba's arm shot out and grabbed Jounouchi's wrist, pulling him out of the rain and under his umbrella with him. "_Bonkotsu_! Are you trying to get yourself sick!?"

"K-Kaiba…?" Even with the rain water still clinging to his eyelashes, Jounouchi looked thoroughly surprised. "What are you still doing here…?" His voice sounded so uncertain; again, Kaiba was tempted to punch him. Tightening his grip on Jounouchi's wrist, Kaiba brought him closer so that he could properly glare at him.

"Are you stupid?" the brunet hissed, eyes narrowing with each syllable.

Blinking in puzzlement, Jounouchi tried to ascertain what Kaiba meant by that. "Kaiba--" Jounouchi's voice caught in his throat--the look Kaiba was giving him so familiarly intense, but so foreign in the meanings behind it. It excited him.

Feeling heat rush to his cheeks, Jounouchi lowered his eyes to the ground, where he could see the rain as it splashed on the asphalt. All of a sudden, though, Jounouchi's head shot back up and his hand reached up to softly touch Kaiba's cheek. His fingers were barely touching the skin there, but Kaiba shivered from their contact anyway. "I wonder…" Jounouchi whispered, his eyes unreadable to Kaiba. "I wonder…"

Unconsciously, the hand that was holding Jounouchi's wrist slid up to hold his hand. Jounouchi's hand was so cold, freezing almost, and Kaiba wanted to know just how long he'd been out there waiting in the rain. While Kaiba was sure of his feelings, he wasn't sure of Jounouchi's, but with the palm resting on his cheek, a form of twisted hope engulfed him, threatening to push all his reasoning aside.

"Why do you care?" Jounouchi asked, breaking through his thoughts, but before Kaiba could even think of an answer, Jounouchi stopped him. "No, never mind. You probably don't."

Looking at Kaiba now, Jounouchi was reminded of all the things that had been on his mind the entire day, and his hand left Kaiba's cheek to rest at his side. Kaiba was really handsome, and it wasn't just physically. "No…"

"What?" Blinking distractedly, Jounouchi slowly became aware that he had said the last part out loud. "No what, Jounouchi?"

Jounouchi gasped, his face an expression one of happy surprise as blood rushed to his face again, which thankfully went unnoticed because of the rain.

"_You want to be near that person, don't you?"_

"K-Kaiba!" he shouted.

"What?"

"You know that book you were looking for? I… I found it! So… If you… If you…"

"Keep it." Kaiba said.

"O-oh." Crushed, Jounouchi didn't know what else to do. He had only wanted a chance to talk to Kaiba again. After this, there were no more chances than that one, and now even that was out of the question. He was also getting tired of being there under the umbrella with Kaiba, Kaiba's touch on his hand and their close proximity. Everything. Jounouchi was starting to miss the pleasant and calming sensation of the rain.

Kaiba felt so warm, but he'd much rather be out in the rain at that moment.

Jounouchi pulled his hand away from Kaiba's, which was astonishingly easy to do, and left the comforts of the umbrella, refusing to meet Kaiba's questioning gaze. "I-I have to go now… My dad's probably g-getting worried, you know…?" Not waiting for a reply, Jounouchi took off. "See you later, Kaiba!"

"_I'd give anything just to see him again, even if it's only as a friend."_

'I like him. I really like him.' Jounouchi thought the rain tasted salty on his lips.

_I want to see you again._

Kaiba looked down at his hand, which only a moment ago, had been holding Jounouchi's. Clenching his fists, Kaiba stared after the departing blonde's back, the sensation of a cold hand and cold fingers still very hauntingly lingering on his skin. Although the rainy barrier had returned, he could see that it wasn't as strong anymore. The rain was starting to lessen; it was now sprinkling.

Smirking, Kaiba raised his free hand up to trace where Jounouchi had touched him earlier.

-:i:-

To Be Continued…

(1) Kaiba's blood type is A (if I remember correctly), which according to the Japanese blood typing theories, indicates that he's creative.  
(2) The university entrance exams' tested subjects are: Japanese, mathematics, science, social studies, and English.  
(3) Baka: Idiot (do I honestly have to translate this one? It's like translating 'sensei'.)

Random Japanese Language Info: The word "sayo(o)nara" (which means good-bye) is _generally_ used when you honestly believe--or are pretty sure--that you will probably never see the person you say it to again.

* * *

Next time…  
_Chapter Four: Illusions of Happiness_

A/N: Wahaha! I am so evil. Eh, sorry, but it's just how I planned the chapter to be. /shrugs/ If you must know, I've already got up to chapter six planned out. That's just how I work when it comes to writing. I plan out my chapters _long_ before I write them. (Heck, I've already planned out the ending.)

This was a LONG chapter. O.O Phew, so I made up for my lateness for Seto-chan's b-day with the length! Oh my god, that sounds so wrong. /shot/ I feel so _drained_ after this chapter. It took a lot out of me because of all the tension I had to write. X.X More on Kaiba's character with the next chapter! (BTW, my favorite line from this chapter was: "Kaiba wanted to punch him." Eeee, and I call myself a Jounouchi fan. /shot/)

Eh, if you get bored while waiting for this fic to be updated, you could always check out my KaiJou one shots. /shrugs/ Until next time! I've got midterms to study for! As usual, reviews are much appreciated.


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